


Tidings of Comfort and Joy

by AbstractAurora



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Parental Issues, Romantic Friendship, Slice of Life, Spoilers, Volunteer Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-20
Updated: 2017-12-20
Packaged: 2019-02-17 15:41:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13080063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbstractAurora/pseuds/AbstractAurora
Summary: With an anonymous Santa on the loose and the majority of the student body required to attend a charity drive of dubious quality, Christmas Eve at Hope's Peak Academy is sure to be eventful. But when Shuuichi Saihara leaves to spend the day with his estranged parents, Kaede Akamatsu faces a Christmas Eve without him by her side... until he returns early.





	Tidings of Comfort and Joy

**Author's Note:**

> Like my last fanfic, this takes place in a universe where the cast has always had their talents and is attending Hope's Peak Academy.

Kaede Akamatsu began Christmas Eve not with excited anticipation for what was yet to come, but with a sense of shared unease. Today was going to be busy day, for Hope's Peak Academy would be running their annual Hope's Peak Christmas Drive, a charity event dedicated to helping the "unfortunate." She would have been more excited to participate if it weren't for the fact that Shuuichi Saihara would not be there with her.

Kaede recalled her surprise when he had told her this the day before. "What? Why not?" she had asked him.

"I'll be meeting my parents on Christmas Eve..." Shuuichi had admitted.

"Your parents?"

Even now the memory of Shuuichi's pain-stricken face was burned into Kaede's mind. "They happen to be in town this week... and my uncle suggested we spend the day together. I don't know when I'll be back... Maybe tomorrow?"

"I... I get it." Kaede had managed an understanding smile. "You go visit your parents, and the rest of us will take care of the charity drive. We'll be able to exchange presents tomorrow, all right? And then you can tell me what happened."

It was only then that Shuuichi had finally smiled and said, "Okay."

Kaede knew she would see him soon, yet as she prepared for a long day, she could not help but worry about his well-being. The few times Shuuichi had mentioned his parents in the past, it was never in a way that indicated he was close to them. Regardless, she would have to go on with her day.

Right as she was leaving her dorm room, Kaede stumbled upon a wrapped gift sitting right in front of her door. _What is this?_ she thought. She looked around to find other presents with the same wrapping paper resting in front of each door. _Did everyone get a present?_  Who had decided go around dropping off gifts to everyone? Kaede could not think of any answers.

She gingerly picked up the present and brought it into her room. It occurred to her that the gift could be a prank, or even something harmful. But then Kaede shook off her dark thoughts: The idea of someone using Christmas presents to harm the student body of Hope's Peak Academy was ridiculous.

She unwrapped the gift and found herself holding a brand-new piano songbook. Although she owned hundreds of songbooks, Kaede still felt grateful that someone would go out of their way to give her something she would likely use in the future. The only problem was that she had no idea who had given it to her. _Maybe Shuuichi?_ she initially thought. But then why would he give gifts to everyone who lived next to her dorm room? Kaede then assumed a member of the administration had given all the students presents, as she did not have enough time to think about the matter any further.

Bundled in her favorite pink winter coat and scarf, Kaede left her dorm room and followed a trail of Hope's Peak Academy students outside to where the charity drive would be taking place. She took notice of how many people were in front of and behind her; she did not recognize anyone in her immediate surroundings.

Hope's Peak Academy did have a winter break, but it was centered around New Year's rather than Christmas. While some students, such as Shuuichi, went off-campus to visit family or go on dates, most were stuck on campus. It was rumored among the older students that the charity drive was created specifically to keep them occupied the entire day. The reasons for this ranged from the administration not wanting the students to fixate on dating to them wanting to distract the entire school while the higher-ups partied elsewhere.

Kaede wasn't exactly sure what to think of the situation. The charity drive would be helping those who needed help - so what did it matter if its intent was less than pure? As long as charity was done, having the student body volunteer at the drive was a worthwhile way to spend Christmas Eve.

Christmas lights were strung all around the bushes, brightening up the campus even though it was daytime. An arrangement of marble statues depicting Santa and his reindeer lined up the path to the courtyard. The ground was disappointingly free of snow, although a nice wind chill ensured everybody would have to bundle up in order to weather the coldness anyway.

Someone had drawn a photorealistic Santa on a white banner hanging above the pathway. On it the words "Santa: The Ultimate Gift-Giver!" were written in red and green markers. Kaede couldn't help but lightly giggle at the picture: The sentiment was cute, and the drawing was well-done. It did occur to her though that while Santa obviously excelled at delivering presents over the course of a day, his talent would likely pale in comparison to most of her classmates'. Somewhere in this world, there had to an Ultimate Gift-Giver who could deliver presents in a matter of hours. _Maybe they're the culprit behind the presents._

Most of the action was taking place in the courtyard. Six white tents were set up over picnic tables. Each table was made up of boxes and piles containing various items. Volunteers were directing students to one of the six tents. Kaede still wasn't exactly sure what she would be doing, but she figured she would have to sort through clothing or canned food to deliver to those who needed them. No matter what, she was up for anything.

Soon Kaede was directed to a tent on the other side of the fountain. While she walked over, her mind flickered over to Shuuichi. He would likely be meeting with his parents by now. But then she sighed and shook her head. _I can't worry about that now,_ she thought. _This is something he needs to face himself._ The most she could do was offer a sympathetic ear afterwards.

She sat down at her assigned table among piles of blankets, coats, gloves, mittens and cardboard boxes. While most of the students sitting with her were unfamiliar, she had the fortune of sitting down right next to Maki Harukawa, a girl who she had gotten to know well over the past few months. "Hey," Maki offered as a smile stretched across Kaede's face.

"Hello, Maki!" she said. "Looks like we're assigned to the same table."

"What a relief..." Maki said quietly, so their tablemates would not overhear. "I was worried about being stuck next to a bunch of strangers."

Kaede stifled a laugh. Maki's bluntness, combined with her status as the Ultimate Assassin, had made her intimating when they first met. But now her brutal honesty was an aspect to her that Kaede appreciated.

A volunteer came over to give them instructions. They would have to fold the clothing and blankets, then pack them into the cardboard boxes. Once the boxes were sealed and labeled with an address from a list they were given, some student volunteers would deliver the boxes to trucks, which would in turn ship them off... somewhere. Kaede did not quite catch the ultimate destination of the boxes, although she assumed they would end up in the right hands.

Everyone then got to work folding, packing, sealing and labeling. Maki was not much of a talker, and none of the other volunteers seemed to be in a chatty mood, so Kaede spent much of the time in silence. When she and Maki occasionally spoke, it was for the facilitation of mundane tasks with such comments like "Please pass me the tape" or "What address was it again?"

After what felt like an hour passed, Maki asked her, "Have you gotten any gifts today?"

"Well..." Kaede said while she folded up a wool blanket, "someone anonymously left a present at my front door. You?"

"Same here." Maki tightly sealed a filled cardboard box with tape. "I was surprised, because I haven't gotten any Christmas presents since I lived at the orphanage."

"It's strange, isn't it?" Kaede was excited that Maki was opening up to her. "But I think the culprit is someone who lives or works here."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, I got a piano songbook, and only someone who knows my talent would think to get that for me." Kaede paused to allow Maki to respond, but a moment passed in silence. Curious, Kaede asked her, "I mean... what did you get?"

"...A set of kitchen knives," was Maki's eventual answer. "I'm... honestly not sure what to think."

"Why?"

"I'm just wondering what I'm supposed to do with them. I'm not an especially good cook."

It then occurred to Kaede just what the present's purpose likely was. "You know..." she said, a funny feeling tingling inside her, "those knives are probably meant for... assassination purposes."

Kaede glanced at Maki and noticed her expression grow cooler. She seemed at a loss on how to respond. After a moment Maki said, "You're right. Someone must have gifted me weapons to murder someone with..."

Neither of them could bring themselves to speak, in fear that one of them would say a cold but undeniable truth. But then Kaede exhaled, drumming her thighs with her fingers. "Of course... you don't have to use them for... murdering purposes..."

Maki shook her head. "I don't. And I don't plan to."

Kaede did not know how to respond. Luckily Kaito Momota stepped in and unknowingly saved the conversation. "Hey, Kaede. Hey, Maki Roll!" Kaito lightly touched Maki's shoulder, and mixture of embarrassment and resignation crossed her face. "Check out what someone got me!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small model of a spacecraft, displaying it for them. Each part seemed intricately made, down to the smallest of valves, and the model was polished with a perfect paint job. Kaede figured that whoever made it clearly made it with love.

"That looks really cool!" Kaede said. "Someone must know you well."

"Well, I ain't that hard to figure out," Kaito said with a grin. "Besides, I've been telling everyone I know how much I wanted one of these! I guess it paid off."

"It certainly did..."

After putting away his gift, Kaito reached over for a stack of boxes that had already been sealed and labeled. He lifted them up and carried them away from the table. Presumably he had been assigned to deliver the boxes to the trucks.

Once Kaito was gone, Kaede was about to continue working when she noticed Maki's horrified face. "What's wrong, Maki?" Kaede asked her, concerned.

"...I can't believe it." Maki refused to meet her gaze as she spoke. "I thought I had it easy, but, well... I got him the same present."

"No!"

Maki sighed. "I bought him the same spacecraft model, and I was planning to give it to him tonight. Now... I don't know what to do."

Kaede did not even stop to comment on her and Kaito spending the night together. "There's an easy way to handle this," she said quickly, as if she was giving Maki life-saving advice. "Just buy him his favorite food from somewhere, then give him both the spacecraft and the food tonight. That way he'll know you appreciate him, he'll be getting something new, and you won't have to rush-order something else." Kaede attempted a reassuring smile.

Maki seemed to seriously contemplate Kaede's words. "You think that'll work?"

"I mean, I know Kaito will be happy to spend time with you either way," Kaede said, causing Maki to blush, "but if you're that worried about it..."

A strange feeling then coursed through her. Here Kaede was, offering advice to Maki and telling her not to worry, all while she was holding her nervousness on Shuuichi's behalf inside her. This was not a particularly new feeling - Kaede had always been the first to support her friends while keeping her troubles hidden away from them. Still, there was something frustrating about how easy it was for her to support her friends and how hard it was to burden them with her own problems. As much as she wanted to tell Maki what was bothering her, Kaede did not want to share her feelings and bring down the mood even further.

* * *

 

The charity drive took up much of the day. By the time Kaede was able to return to the dorms, the sun had already set. Exhaustion seeped through her body: though she did not have to do anything more complicated than arrange folded blankets into a small box, she felt like she had taken an entire day's worth of exams.

Still, Kaede did not want to crash on her bed just yet. Shuuichi had just texted her saying he was back early; she was free to come over to his dorm at any time until curfew. Now she could finally give him his Christmas present, and she would likely get hers as well.

Once she left her room and went over to knock on his door, it did not take more than a few seconds for Shuuichi to answer.

"Hello, Shuuichi," Kaede said, clutching her present tightly in her hands.

"Hey..." His refusal to look directly into her eyes concerned her - until she noticed him holding a thin purple stick. A pink tinge formed on Shuuichi's face. "Did... did you gift me this?" he asked, holding up the stick.

Kaede immediately realized it was a vibrator. "What? Where did you find that?!" she yelped.

"There was a package waiting for me outside when I got back. I wondering if you..."

"No! Just... just throw it away!" Any ounce of goodwill Kaede held for Hope's Peak Academy's own Secret Santa vanished.

Shuuichi placed his palms out. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." He sighed. "It's been a rough day."

Kaede calmed down. It was not worth getting angry over a present. "All right... Let's sit down somewhere and you can tell me what happened." He nodded and allowed her in, dropping the vibrator into a trash can.

Shuuichi's room looked like any other dorm room in Hope's Peak Academy, although its decoration reflected its owner's tastes. A bookshelf filled with novels and magazines sat in a corner. Posters of popular TV shows were plastered on the wall, over his bed. A large Sherlock Holmes story compilation sat on his dresser next to an antique clock. _Let's hope he doesn't already have the novel I'm giving him,_ Kaede thought. She had last been in his room a few days ago, so she confirmed then that he did not have the novel in his possession. Hopefully he still didn't own it now.

Kaede sat down with Shuuichi on his bed. "So..." she said, "tell me how your day went. What did you do?"

Shuuichi rubbed his neck. "Well... I met with my parents."

"And?"

"And..." He sighed again. "I wish I hadn't."

"Tell me all about it." Kaede normally would not have been so pushy, but the expression on Shuuichi's face indicated that he was holding in something that was distressing to him.

Shuuichi looked like he wanted to laugh in spite of how tired he was. "I woke up early this morning to meet them, and I didn't have any tea or coffee... so I was already in a crappy mood. When I got to the front gates, it was freezing cold... I was told they would arrive at 9, but they were half an hour late."

Kaede tried to imagine the state he had been in. If she had been woken up early without any caffeine to aid her, then forced to wait outside in below freezing temperatures, she would have been in a crappy mood too.

"So a limo drives up to where I'm standing," Shuuichi said, "and a door opens for me. I assume it's my ride, so I climb in. My parents are inside..."

"How were they?" Kaede asked. "Were they friendly?"

"They were kinda... stiff. But they've always been like that. I was tired and cold, but I tried to be on my best behavior."

Kaede leaned over to gently pat his hand before asking, "And then what happened?"

"The limo took us to this restaurant in town... a very fancy one," Shuuichi explained. "It turns out there was this Christmas party that they had to go to. The other guests were all celebrities and politicians and a bunch of VIPs... It sounds amazing, but it was really boring. My parents led me around the party and introduced me to all these people I'd never seen before... and I still don't remember their names." Kaede giggled when he said that. Shuuichi's eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh yeah, I did recognize some of the guests. The principal was there."

"Of Hope's Peak Academy?"

"Yeah. And a few board members... They were sort of intimidating to talk to, but they seemed to be fascinated with my talent."

Kaede hummed. _So the Hope's Peak administration was spending Christmas Eve at a VIP party instead of the charity drive..._ she thought. She wanted to think more about the implications of that fact, but she was more interested in listening to Shuuichi's story first.

"So while you guys were helping out at the charity drive," Shuuichi said, "I was being led around like a show pony. I wish I could have taken some lesson from this, but... I struggle to come up with any."

"Ummm..." Kaede said the first idea that came to her head: "Maybe that you don't like fancy schmancy VIP parties?"

Shuuichi laughed. "That's possible."

"So... what happened after that?"

"Well, we had an early lunch, since it was technically supposed to be some sort of lunch party. I sat with my parents... And they finally asked me questions about my experience at Hope's Peak Academy."

"What did you tell them?" To herself Kaede silently added, _Hopefully good things._

"I mean... I talked about my classes, the work we've been doing... my friends..."

There was a strange smile on Shuuichi's face. Kaede, sensing something was off, said, "Shuuichi... What exactly did you tell them about... us?"

"Well, I talked about you, Kaito, Maki, Rantarou..." Shuuichi said, "what talents you have and what you're like. Of course, I 'forgot' to mention Maki's talent..." Kaede laughed after he said this. "I thought the conversation was going okay at first. But then... um..." He abruptly cut himself off as his face grew paler.

"What's wrong, Shuuichi?" Kaede asked him gently. "You can tell me!"

"I..." He exhaled. "I might have mentioned you were my best friend..."

Kaede's eyes widened. If anyone were to ask her the same question, she would have considered Shuuichi her best friend as well, but it was still sort of embarrassing. Still it was a wonderful thing to hear straight from him. "That's really sweet of you, Shuuichi." When a grimace formed on his face in return, she cautiously asked him, "What did your parents say?"

"Um... well, they didn't seem to like when I said that."

"What? How?!" Reasons for that line of thought began to form in Kaede's mind. Was she too much of a piano freak? Was her talent too useless? Did she unknowingly offend them somehow?

"I wasn't sure at first either..." Shuuichi explained, "but my dad told me that he didn't want my best friend to be a girl. Well, he _implied_ it."

This stunned Kaede into silence. At first she could not understand why someone would believe that. Then frustration began to form: Why would that matter? "That's ridiculous," she said. "Boys and girls can be best friends!" Perhaps she would have been embarrassed to say this out loud a year ago or even earlier today, but now she was much too annoyed to care.

Shuuichi exhaled loudly. "I agree... but my parents didn't see it that way. My mother even thought that if I hung out with you too much, I would become too 'feminine.'"

Kaede let out a bewildered gasp. Shuuichi averted his eyes and stared down at his bed. "What..." Kaede whispered. She wanted to ask him what he had told them, but she could not bring herself to say the words.

"That's when I sort of lost it..." Shuuichi said.

"L... lost it?" Kaede felt just as nervous as he was.

"At this point I was tired of listening to my parents," he added, "and tired of the environment, and... everything." He paused briefly to gather his thoughts. "So I first told them that they're wrong - I feel no shame in having Kaede as my best friend."

Kaede wasn't sure how to respond. Eventually she managed a soft "...Shuuichi..."

"They... My parents didn't really like when I said that. My mother told me to be quiet... And then I kinda... got carried away."

"You... you got _carried away_?"

Shuuichi tilted his head back up to look right into Kaede's eyes. "I told them about you were the first friend I made at Hope's Peak and how you made me feel less scared of being here... I tried to also tell them about how friendly you are, and how you're a good listener and... well, how much you mean to me."

Kaede felt herself get hotter.

"But at that point, they didn't... want to hear anymore." Now Shuuichi was also blushing. "We left the party after lunch and they dropped me off back here early. I would've joined you guys, but... I didn't want to take away attention from what you were doing."

"Oh, Shuuichi..." Kaede genuinely was touched. Nobody had ever stood up for her like that before, as far as she could remember.

"I... maybe you prefer I'd kept my cool, but..."

Shuuichi did not finish his sentence. Out of gratitude and perhaps something else, Kaede leapt off the bed straight into his arms, hugging him tightly. As he wrapped his arms around her, she could feel her heart beating rapidly. She had given him a few friendly hugs before in the past. But this was a first - the first time it felt like more than a friendly hug, and the first time she was aware of how secure she felt his arms...

Eventually Kaede dislodged herself from Shuuichi. It was slowly dawning on her what she had done. Reflexively she cried, "You didn't have to do that!" She then noticed the confused expression on Shuuichi's red-hot face. She smiled once again and added, "But I appreciate it..."

"No... no problem..." Shuuichi said, smiling back. He scooted closer to her. "That reminds me..." His voice sounded apologetic. "How was your day?"

Kaede drummed her fingers on his bed as she thought about what to tell him. "Well... It wasn't as dramatic as yours..."

She went into a brief summary of the events that had taken place from the moment she woke up to before she went to his room. Although she was conscious of whether she made her day sound sufficiently exciting, he did not seem to get bored once while she talked. Shuuichi laughed when she mentioned Maki's gift to Kaito being the same as the mysterious gift-giver's, but otherwise he listened intently, only occasionally stopping to ask questions.

"So everyone got an anonymous gift?" Shuuichi asked Kaede once she told him about the piano songbook she had gotten.

"As far as I know..." she said. "Most of them seemed to be related to our talents, except... um, yours."

"I wonder who went out of their way to play Santa..." he said. She could tell he genuinely wanted to solve the mystery of the anonymous gift-giver. "Probably someone with a lot of time and money."

"Maybe Santa actually did it," Kaede suggested jokingly. Shuuichi laughed; his lighthearted mood was contagious enough that she couldn't help but laugh a little too.

As she continued talking, Kaede found herself so invested in telling him everything that she ignored how much time their conversation was taking up. When she finished recollecting her day, Shuuichi said, "Listen... Our curfew is in a few minutes..."

Kaede's head turned towards the clock on his dresser. "Oh no, you're right!" she gasped. "I didn't mean to take up so much time."

Shuuichi shook his head. "I don't mind," he said, reaching over to grab something from underneath his bed. "Anyway, I got you something for Christmas..."

They exchanged presents. Shuuichi was surprised when he unwrapped his to find the novel he wanted in his hands. "I've been looking for this for ages..." he said. "How did know?"

"I guess I'm a good listener..." Kaede said with an affectionate eye-roll. Her present was clearly leagues above a vibrator.

She wasn't sure what to expect when she received a wrapped box in return - though it was certainly not a silver-colored necklace with music notes and keyboard charms attached to it. "Oh, Shuuichi..." Kaede said. "I love it!"

Shuuichi blushed lightly, perhaps because of how happy she sounded. "I figured you liked jewelry because of the hairclip you wear..." he said. "So I got that for you..."

Kaede held the box that the necklace came in, turning it around to examine the necklace closely. Despite it not appearing too flashy or expensive, she knew how other people would react if they found out Shuuichi had gotten her jewelry for Christmas. And yet she felt defensive about the necklace - Kaede _wanted_ to wear and cherish it.

Moments later, curfew time arrived. Reluctantly getting up from the bed, Kaede said, "I'm really glad we got to talk today."

"Same..." Shuuichi said. "Talking with you makes me feel a lot better for some reason."

Suddenly Kaede felt embarrassed again. "Shuuichi!"

"Ah, sorry!" he yelped. "I didn't mean to..."

His voice faltered as Kaede leaned over him. Before she could stop herself, she tilted her head to the side and gave him a kiss on the cheek. When she straightened herself out, the shocked look on his face caused her to blush once more. "I... um... good night, Shuuichi."

Kaede barely heard his mumbled "good night," as she was out of his dorm room within seconds. Kaede wanted to believe she was just making curfew, although she knew deep down in her heart that it was just her embarrassment that was driving her forth. She had never been so close to a boy before, much less one she had considered just a best friend until recently...

 _What just happened?_ she thought as her heart raced as much as her body back to her dorm room.

Still... as Kaede settled in her room, any regret she had slowly receded. She lied on her bed, dangling the silver necklace over her face. She had a feeling this would not be the last time they got close to each other the way they did in Shuuichi's room. Kaede figured they would be seeing each other in a whole different light in the new year.

**Author's Note:**

> As for who anonymously gave the students of Hope's Peak Academy presents? Perhaps that is a mystery for another time...


End file.
